Indian economy to overtake UK in 10 yrs

Economic forecasts predict that India will overtake the UK and become the world’s fifth largest economy within the next 10 years, the third largest behind China and the US by 2025 and the second largest economy after China by 2050.

The number of Indian companies in the West Midlands in UK has doubled since 2006. This year saw the biggest deal of all-Tata’s acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover, which made it the largest foreign investor in the region, employing over 13,000 staff. In a bid to forge more ties, an action plan has been put in place to seal new business and academic ties between the West Midlands and India.

Two-way trade between the UK and India is today worth $ 8.7 billion per year.

Who has the slimmest waist?

Now here’s a skinny quiz for you. Do you want to know who has the slimmest waist? Meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians, or vegans? Well, well! According to a new study, vegans do. Vegans are vegetarians who not only forego eating meat, fish, or fowl but also all foods derived from animals.

However, the reason vegans tend to be slimmer may lie in what they do eat – fibre. Lots of it. And that’s a habit you can easily duplicate. Fibre makes you feel full longer, and it seems to inhibit fat absorption. Broccoli pizza on whole-wheat crust, anyone?

Although fibre seems to help limit fat deposits, a meat-laden diet does just the opposite – it actually can cause an increase in body fat, especially in the belly, one of the worst places for it to accumulate in terms of both your health and your self-image. In one cross-sectional study, meat-eaters had the highest body mass indexes (BMIs), the height-weight ratio that’s the gold standard for separating healthy weights from weights that are too high or too low. Fish-eaters and vegetarians had lower BMIs than people who regularly ate meat, and vegans tended to have the lowest indexes of all.

One possible explanation is that high-protein diets may change the hormonal makeup of the body, altering body chemistry in a way that increases fat around the abdomen. Whatever the reason, the point is clear – you have yet another reason to up your intake of fibre-rich fruits, veggies, and whole grains – a smaller waist.

Evaluate returns while investing

Loading is a charge which an asset management company (AMC) of a mutual fund may collect on entry or exit from a fund. A load is levied to cover the up-front cost incurred by the AMC to sell the fund. It also covers one-time processing costs. A load is the fee paid upfront to a AMC, and brokerage , to invest the funds by the mutual fund.

There are expenses to be paid to convert cash one invests in stocks or bonds. In addition to that, a fund needs to pay commission to the broker who brought the business. The load is charged normally as entry load and exit load. Entry load is charged at the time of entry or investment, exit load is charged at the time of sale. Most of the fund companies waive the exit load after a certain period of holding.

One should review fees, including those of no-load funds, before investing. Even small differences in fees can translate into a large difference in returns over time.

An entry load is an additional cost that an investor pays at the point of entry. Assume that your proposed investment is Rs 20,000. Also assume that the current NAV of the fund is Rs 12 and that the entry load is Rs 0.50. Then, you will receive 10,000 divided by 12.50, that is 1,600 units.

An exit load is levy that an investor pays at the point of exit. This is levied to dissuade investors from exiting the fund. Assume that the current NAV of the fund is Rs 15 and that the exit load is Rs 0.50. Now, if you sell 1,600 units, you stand to receive 1,600 multiplied by 14.5, that is, Rs 23,200.

Funds usually charge an entry load ranging between one and two per cent. There are some funds which don’t charge any fee for initial investments. Usually, index funds, bond funds and liquid funds provide this benefit. These funds do not charge any entry or exit loads. A no-load fund may charge fees that are not sales loads, such as purchase fees, redemption fees, exchange fees, and account fees. Noload funds will also have operating expenses.

A mutual fund provides details of how much you should expect to pay each year in loads and operating expenses. For example, assume you invested Rs 10,000 in a mutual fund a year ago. You paid a two per cent front-end load and the fund’s operating expense ratio was 1.5 per cent. The value of the fund’s portfolio increases 10 per cent in the first year that you own the units. Since the fund took Rs 200 upfront in transaction fees, your net initial investment was Rs 9,800. A year later, your initial investment is actually worth Rs 10,780, for a one year rate of return of 7.8 per cent. Next, deduct the 1.5 per cent in operating expenses using the midpoint value of your units during the year - Rs 9,800 plus Rs 10,780 divided by 2, or Rs 10,290. Multiply that amount by 1.5 per cent to get Rs 154. If you subtract Rs 154 in operating fees from the value of your fund units, your after-fee return is Rs 10,626, for a one year rate of return of 6.26 per cent. So, the returns are 6.26 per cent instead of 10 per cent. As this example shows, loads and fees of a mutual fund can take a substantial chunk from their investment returns.

Mutual funds are required to show their fees and loads. The investor should compare the load charges - both entry and exit - before deciding to invest in a mutual fund. The NAV should not be the sole criterion . The entry and exit loads can have a substantial impact on the returns to the investor.

Top food myths revealed

Think ’light’ coloured olive oil is lighter in calorie content or eating carbs can give love handles? Well, in that case, you need a reality check, for all these notions are mere myths, say two Sydney based dieticians. Susie Burrell and Karen Fischer, nutritionist and author of The Healthy Skin Diet , have come up with a list of the top 10 food myths that people have been following blindly for years.

According to Burrell and Fischer, the top 10 food myths are:

Oysters are an aphrodisiac
Oysters don’t have a secret chemical agent that boosts your sex drive. Though they do have zinc, which is beneficial for men, won’t do any good to the sex life.

"Zinc is linked to the sexual hormone but does not have an effect on libido. However, some people say oysters are an aphrodisiac because they look like parts of the female anatomy," Watoday.com.au quoted Burrell, as saying.

Long-life milk is full of chemicals
Milk does not need preservatives to sit on a cupboard shelf for months, for it’s preservation secret lies in the application of high-temperature technologies.

Fischer said: "Milk is heated to 135 degrees then quickly cooled. That makes ’bad’ bacteria perish, but all the minerals are retained. So long life milk is great as a stand by if you run out of fresh milk."

Light olive oil is "light" on calories
The "light" refers to the colour, not the fat content.

It is not safe to refreeze meat after it has thawed
It is actually safe to thaw and refreeze meat, but on needs to be very careful dong that. The meat must be thawed in a fridge at five degrees or less. At this temperature, most bacteria responsible for food poisoning cannot grow and those that can, do so very slowly and are killed by subsequent cooking.

Carbohydrates cause you to gain weight
Carbohydrates do not cause weight gain unless they contribute to excess calorie intake. The same holds true for protein and fat. Burrell said it’s all in the selection.

"The trouble with carbs is they can be easy to overeat. If they are highly processed, like white flour and pasta, it is
turned into sugar quickly and means you don’t stay full for long. So you need to choose the right sort," she said.

Fresh veggies are better than frozen
A large number of frozen veggies are just as nutritious, or in some cases even more nutritious, than fresh ones. Frozen vegetables are usually processed within hours of picking, which prevents the loss of many nutrients during the freezing process, therefore they keep their high vitamin and mineral content.

The healthier option at a restaurant is a vegetarian dish
This depends on the dish, but some vegetarian meals are high in fat, especially if they’re fried or are made with cheese or pastry.

Burrell said: "The problem with vegetarian meals is that cream-based sauce or butter is used to make them tasty. If you choose a pasta or risotto it has to be very plain tomato sauce to be the low-fat option."

It’s best not to eat after 7pm
It’s not the time but the type of food that you eat that counts. Eating more calories than you burn will make you gain weight. But late snacking can push your calorie intake over the edge.

Fischer said: "Eating just before you go to bed can hamper sleep patterns in that it messes with your insulin. I’d suggest you don’t eat for two to three hours before bed."

Fat-free equals calorie-free
Binging on fat-free foods may ward off the guilt-factor linked with gaining weight, but a lot of fat-free foods have the same amount or even more calories than regular versions.

Shop at midnight!

Wanna know what our shopaholics do at the midnight hour, when all of us are tucked in bed? Well, dahlins, they venture out shopping! A store had its midnight sale on Thursday (yes, this event officially began at 11.30 pm) and despite the odd hour and the heavy showers, a bunch of people did come! Sanjay Vakharia of the store was a pleased man indeed, as he spoke about how the masses flock to sales, but a midnight sale is a signature style statement.

While Siddharth Kannan took to the jeans section with interest, Shonal Rawat took a special liking for some tops. Her boyfriend Deepak Bajaj meanwhile caught up with Rajev Paul. Karan Wahi was the next to come by; he brought two of his friends Sonal and Hemani along to help him pick up a pair of denims. Talk about friends for all seasons and for all reasons! ‘Shop till you drop’ took an altogether new meaning at this midnight affair!

Security fears worry Pakistani Hindus

The Hindu community in Pakistan has expressed concerns at the increase in incidents targeting the life and properties, including places of worship, of the Hindus in the Islamic nation.

The Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC), a representative body of the minority community in the country, expressed concerns over Hindus being target of rising number of robberies in Sindh province.

The Council demanded that the federal Government in Islamabad take immediate measures to prevent such incidents and protect the minority community in the country.

Large number of Hindus took part in a protest in Karachi against the recent robbery in Jacobabad where armed men entered a Hindu temple and robbed some 350 Hindu women of cash and jewelry worth millions of rupees.

Former Sindh lawmaker Dr Ramesh Lal accused the the police and other law enforcement agencies of having failed to provide security to the citizens, particularly the minorities.

"The dacoits have robbed valuables worth approximately Rs 70 million and after the recent incident in Jacobabad, members of the minority communities, especially women, are even afraid to go their religious places," PHC Secretary General Hari Motwani was quoted as saying by the Daily Times newspaper.

"Therefore, we demand that the Government immediately arrest the dacoits and ensure safety measures for minorities, said Motwani, adding that the incident took place in broad daylight and yet the police were unable to prevent it.

"The robberies, coupled with the kidnappings of Hindus in the northern districts of Sindh, have created panic and insecurity amongst the minorities," PHC President Raja Assermal Manglani said, adding that the government needed to ease their fears.

Mukesh Ambani, Deshmukh in Indian Mujahideen's e-mail

The e-mail of Indian Mujahideen, which has claimed responsibility for the terror strikes in Ahmedabad, has warned of dire consequences to some politicians and business heads prompting authorities to increase their security.

In its 14-page email, the militant outfit, believed to be a shadow amalgam of the banned SIMI and Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), warned Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh and his deputy R R Patil of dire consequences over the alleged targeting of minority communities in that state.

"We wonder at your memory. Have you forgotten the evening of July 11, 2006 so quickly and so easily?" the e-mail warned.

Reliance Industries Limited head Mukesh Ambani also figured in the e-mail in which he was asked to ‘think-twice’ before "usurping and building a citadel on a land in Mumbai that belongs to the Waqf board.

"...lest it turns into horrifying memories for you which you will never ever forget."

There was a warning for the UP Bar Council too for their repeated stand of not taking up cases of Muslims.

For the high-profile VIPs and VVIPs on Central security list, preventive measures have already been placed and for those on state list, authorities concerned have been asked to take up necessary steps, sources in the Union Home Ministry said.